Cape Town — A South African Post Office (SAPO) general manager was arrested after he was accused of pocketing R2.2 million from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) payment system.
Sepheka Stephen Masooa, a 54 year-old SAPO employee in Gauteng, allegedly signed off on the deals, which included 80 counts of theft and fraud. He appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, The Citizen reported.
Masooa was at the Stretford Post Office in the South of Joburg and allegedly committed the crimes in 2020, with the case only opened against him in 2022. This led to an investigation by the Hawks and was arrested on Wednesday.
“Fictitious accounting entries were made on the Webripost system reflecting payments to beneficiaries. The internal audit uncovered that such payments were inflated and could not be substantiated by valid documentation or supportive recipients bio-files,” explained Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha.
Post Office Manager Stepheka Stephen Masooa from Vaal Rand has been arrested for over 80 counts of theft and fraud, amounting to over R2.2 million. It is alleged that Masoosa manipulated the SASSA system linked to Post Office by creating ghost accounts. pic.twitter.com/tZJeG4RUhs
— CrimeInSA (@sa_crime) June 13, 2024
Police reported that Masooa’s undoing may have been down to the fact that his allegedly fraudulent transactions took place in the early hours of the morning, or in the late hours of the evening – these times were outside of the Post Office’s standard operating hours.
According to Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa, he took pleasure at the arrest, but warned that his accomplices will be held accountable for taking advantage of the system and exploiting members of society.
“The greedy individuals who use unscrupulous ways to defraud state entities, specifically Sassa in this case, better think again. It is clear the accused did not work alone in this regard. We will stop at nothing to ensure that the rest of the suspects also have their day in court soon,” said Kadwa.
Masooa will appear in court again on 21 June as he waits for the appointment of a legal representative.
Picture: X/@sa_crime
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
